


That we were only broke and bruised

by quilfish_swan



Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Gen, Ghost Neji, Post-War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:15:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25760431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quilfish_swan/pseuds/quilfish_swan
Summary: Neji's ghost watches his loved ones deal with his death.
Relationships: Gai-han | Team Guy & Maito Gai | Might Guy, Hyuuga Hinata & Hyuuga Neji, Hyuuga Neji & Maito Gai | Might Guy, Hyuuga Neji & Rock Lee, Hyuuga Neji & Rock Lee & Tenten, Hyuuga Neji & Tenten, Rock Lee & Tenten
Comments: 14
Kudos: 87





	That we were only broke and bruised

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [vigil of the loved](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2747696) by [anthropologicalhands](https://archiveofourown.org/users/anthropologicalhands/pseuds/anthropologicalhands). 



> This was partly inspired by another Naruto ghost fic that I adore :)
> 
> Title comes from lyrics in "Ghost" by American Authors.

His team will often eat out together, always picking the same booth at the same barbecue joint they’d go to when he was alive. (Lee sits next to Tenten and across from Gai, like always.) 

There’s always an empty space, next to his sensei, for him. Neji always takes it.

Surprisingly, out of the three of them, it’s Lee who seems to be the most sensitive to when Neji tries to talk to them. Although, there are times when he’s sure that all of them must be able to hear him, if not only faintly, as if his words are a thought that comes into their minds. 

One night at dinner, Gai brings up an incident that happened years ago, one of the first times they’d come to this restaurant, when Neji ordered chicken with green sauce that turned out to be extremely spicy, which, for him, meant a near-death experience. Gai had to go back and personally ask the chef for a glass of milk to revive him, and Tenten traded dishes with him so he wouldn’t be hungry.

Lee erupts in giggles at the memory, while Tenten shakes her head and tries to disguise her grin.

 _You idiots, that was one time,_ Neji says, _and how was I supposed to know the green sauce was the spiciest on the menu? Green means mild, red means hot!_

Lee pauses and with a genuine smile, says, “If Neji were here, I am absolutely sure he would say, ‘You idiots, that was one time!’ or, ‘Green means mild, and red means hot!’”

Neji expects them to laugh at that, but there’s a beat of silence before Tenten says, “I was just thinking the exact same thing.”

 _That’s because I just said it,_ Neji says, scowling, but his expression softens quickly.

“Perhaps he’s here with us right now, having a laugh!” his sensei says as cheerfully as he can muster. (Only those closest to Gai can pick up on the nuance of his voice—to the untrained ear, everything he says sounds equally boisterous. Neji knows better, and he’s sure his teammates do, as well.)

 _I am here,_ Neji says and folds his arms. The constant ache in his chest feels a little more present, and he looks fondly at his team, wishing more than ever to be able to speak _with_ them, and not just _to_ them.

The night carries on normally after that, but he notices his sensei glancing every so often to his side, looking hopeful.

-

Gai comes to his grave every day without fail, usually in the late afternoon. He brings flowers, and he cries, and sometimes he doesn’t leave until Kakashi finds him and tears him away with a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Neji sits with him, beside his wheelchair. Sometimes Gai will talk as if he’s there, and Neji will respond. His teacher may not be able to hear him, but sometimes their conversations flow so naturally that he forgets.

-

One day, Neji thinks Lee actually sees him, for an instant, at least.

He is searching frantically for his leg warmers, which Neji knows are underneath his bed, from yesterday afternoon when Tenten kicked them there as she was tidying up the room. 

_Under the bed,_ Neji says, and taps his friend’s shoulder.

Lee whirls around.

“Neji?”

His eyes are wide, and he’s staring at him—or maybe through him.

“Neji?” he repeats, calling him.

 _Yes, Lee. I’m right here_ , he says, and he thinks that Lee may really hear him, too, because he reaches out, as if to touch him. His hand passes right through him, of course, but it still makes Neji smile.

Lee blinks a few times, shakes his head, and looks under the bed. He pulls out his leg warmers and gapes at them. 

He looks around the room wildly, saying Neji’s name ( _Yes, Lee, I'm here_ ), but apparently finds nothing; it’s several minutes before he slips his warmers on and heads out for the day, lingering in the doorway before he goes.

-

Neji and Tenten used to brush each other’s hair at night on missions. Lee and Gai would often comment with tears in their eyes about how wonderful it was and how they’d never seen such beautiful long brown locks, and then take turns combing each other’s bowl cuts. 

Now Tenten brushes her own hair, in the apartment she and Lee share. Every once in a while when she has to twist her arm at odd angles to get the back, Lee will offer to do it for her. She always politely declines. Lee nods. He understands.

Lee is away on a mission when Neji comes to their window and finds Tenten getting ready for bed alone. He takes a seat next to her on the floor.

Long dark waves fall down her back as she takes out her buns with a sigh. Neji instinctively reaches out to touch her hair, and she stills when he makes contact. He wonders if his hand feels cold as he lets it hover over her back. 

She turns her head to the side, but says nothing.

Neji is silent, as well.

Her eyes close, and for a moment it looks like she might speak, but she doesn’t. She grabs her hairbrush. He lets her be.

-

He visits Hinata often.

She talks to herself when she’s alone, which Neji didn’t know until after he died and started spending more time with her. She’ll be making dinner or knitting or picking up the living room, absently saying the things on her mind, punctuating her thoughts with things like, “Isn’t that right, Neji?” 

It startles him when she first does it, and he wonders if perhaps she hasn’t been talking to herself at all, but to him. He tries to talk to her, too, but if she hears him, she gives no indication.

She’s in an armchair making a scarf now, a long red one with tassels. 

“I know you’re here, Neji,” she says softly, not looking up from her work.

 _Hinata?_ he breathes. _Can you… see me?_

She doesn’t respond, though he doesn’t know if it’s because she honestly doesn’t hear him or because she’s being cheeky.

“I miss you, big brother.”

_Hinata…_

“Thank you for always watching over me.”

She looks up with misty eyes in his direction before resuming her knitting with a small smile.

_I miss you, too, Hinata._

She falls asleep in the chair with the scarf in her lap, and he stays with her through the night.

-

Years pass. He isn’t with them, but he is. 

In some ways it gets easier. In some ways it doesn’t.

They feel him in the ways they know how, and they adjust.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading :)


End file.
